American Ryan Hall Leads Boston Marathon At Halfway Point

At the 13.1 mile checkpoint, Hall led a group of 20 or so men with a split time of 1:02:54 (that’s a 4:49 mile pace). But shortly thereafter, Hall began fading, perhaps spent from having to make a huge push to catch the leaders between miles 10 and 13.

In a remarkable resurgence, Hall is still at the front. Having been dropped and way off the pace, he now holds a half stride on the pack, still comprising 20 or so men. Possibly, his was one of the most astute non-moves seen at Boston for some years. While the pack endured a 4:34 softener from Merga, Hall just cruised and avoided any potential damage.

Currently, Hall is in eighth place, trailing a surge of seven runners. Does he have enough in him to make yet another push, with the Newton Hills still looming? Only time will tell.

On the women’s side, it is Teyba Erkess’s race to lose. The Ethiopian led at the 13.1 mile point, and then decided she wanted to run faster -- “Erkesso is putting the hammer down on the flat stretch right before the firehouse turn, where she will be greeted by the first in a series of three famous hills.” She is now ahead of second place by almost a minute -- the other runners are literally not even in the picture any more.